The invention herein pertains to retainers for coiled ropes and particularly pertains to retainers for ropes used in rodeos which have identification data on the end thereof.
Ropes that are used for lassoing steers, calves, horses and the like during rodeo performances come with various numbers of strands, lengths, diameters and hands. Cowboys develop a xe2x80x9cfeelxe2x80x9d for a rope for a particular event and are therefore confident and comfortable when using the rope of their choosing. During rodeo performances contestants must often quickly select a rope for use in an upcoming event and the wrong choice may cost the contestant a large amount of prize money. Rodeo contestants generally have available several ropes of different sizes, hands, lengths, strands and colors. These ropes are usually carried loose in a travel bag or otherwise and generally have an identification tag or label at one end which specifies important data (length, diameter, hand and the like) for easy selection. However, when a rope is transported to a rodeo in a coiled fashion, it can easily become entangled with other ropes or become uncoiled and the identification data of a particular rope can be difficult to quickly read or can be misread during the haste to select a rope for performance purposes.
Thus, with the problems and inconveniences of prior rope storage, transportation and selection, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a rope retainer which will allow storage of a coiled rope in a stable, convenient manner.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a rope retainer which will allow a user to easily read the identification data on the end of the rope.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a rope retainer which includes a display catch for holding the end of the rope in a secure manner.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide, in one embodiment a fixed, circular rope retainer which is easy to use and transport.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide an alternate embodiment of the rope retainer which can be collapsed for easy storage when not in use.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.
The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by a rope retainer and method of use whereby a coiled rope can be stored on a retainer made from a suitable, durable material such as a rigid plastic which, in the preferred embodiment is formed having a circular frame with a series of brackets positioned along the outer edge. A display catch is positioned on a support attached to the frame for maintaining the end of the rope which contains information.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention a frame is formed by two pivotable, elongated members which can be secured in an open posture by a threaded member and a wingnut. The frame can be collapsed by loosening the wingnut and pivoting the pair of elongated members to a closed position for easy transportation and storage when not containing a rope.